What Summer May Bring

All through the school year, we bust our backs managing the inclusion of our kids with special needs in Sunday School, making church accessible for families and even trying to make adaptations for AWANA or scouts. But what happens once school lets out?

In some aspects, the summer can be more challenging for families than any other time of year. The most glaring difficulty is that children are operating outside of the boundaries of their usual school-year schedules. Because of all the recreational and family oriented activities, sleep routines, dietary habits and even therapy regimens can be completely thrown off. Meltdowns and out-of-control behaviors can make this a very stressful season.

Certainly, there can be many wonderful opportunities during the summer. Libraries offer wonderful reading programs. Local recreation departments have all varieties of sports and seasonal activities. And often, children with special needs can qualify for Extended School Year (ESY) help. But frequently, churches don’t offer Sunday School over the summer, have fewer volunteers available and may suddenly face some different challenges.

This evening, May 10th at 8 PM CST, #SpnMin TweetChat will feature conversation about what you and your church have planned for the summer months. The photo above is from a family day camp that our organization collaborates with each August. They offer a VBS component along with activities like rock wall climbing, fishing, and horseback riding all for kids with special needs, their siblings, and their parents. We can discuss any similar programs you are acquainted with or aspire to. We can also explore what your church might do to stand in the gap during this time of year. Families’ needs don’t end just because school is not in session. Our compassion should be poured out with full awareness of that fact!

If you have never participated in a TweetChat before, merely follow these instructions:

You will be prompted through an easy three-step process.

When you click “Sign In”, you will then be asked to “Authorize an Application” through your Twitter account. To attend, you will have to click the blue “Authorize App” button.

Once you have done so, merely type in the name of the chat (hashtag) you wish to attend at the top of the page, and click go. For our chat, type in spnmin. Now you’re in the chat room! But you’re not finished yet.

To keep most current with the conversation, go to the upper left hand side of the screen and click on “Refresh Speed”. Slide the tab down to 5 seconds. This will keep you up-to-date with the scrolling conversation. Remember, just like on Twitter, you are limited to only so many spaces for your comments…in this case 132 characters. You don’t have to add the #spnmin hashtag after every post. TweetChat adds the hashtag automatically.

Disclaimer

All content at Ministry Moments is the exclusive expression of SNAPPIN' MINISTRIES, INC and does not necessarily represent the views, opinions or positions of any affiliated partner, church or sponsor.